Howl.

I awoke with a headache, and could hardly take the sunlight that gently penetrated my window blinds. By the time I realized what time it was, it was past one in the afternoon. I lied in bed for a few more drawn out moments, then threw my blankets off of my legs. Normally, it got pretty hot in here during the summers, but as of last year, the vent in my bedroom had been fixed so that at least some air conditioning made it's way up.

Just as I stood up, and as if by cue, my cell phone vibrated, alerting me of a text message. I grabbed it from my nightstand, and flipping it open, groaned at the sight of Mary's name on the screen.

From: Mary
Whatchya doing today missy?

I tied my hair back with one of the bands I kept around my wrist, and hit reply.

To: Mary
Not hanging out with you.

I tucked the cell phone into my pocket and skipped down the stairs, disregarding the headache that I had woken up with. Mom had gone to work hours ago, and after having checked the living room and kitchen, there was not a single note to be found, nor any money for dinner tonight.

"Aanybody hooome?"

The front door closed with a dull thud and I poked my head around the corner, only to find that Mary had walked into my house without a word of approval. I narrowed my eyes at her, and she grinned.

"What if I had been walking around my house naked, Mare?" I asked, heading back into the kitchen where two pieces of toast were waiting for me.

"Well, I know you well enough to say you wouldn't do that." She followed me, and leaned against the refrigerator door. "Now, you are going to get dressed, and come with me, because I have a day full of fun planned for us."

I sighed, and folded my toast in half, something of a habit that I'd developed since I was younger. "I can't, Mary, as much as that sounds so enticing."

She frowned, and crossed her arms across her chest. "You're hanging out with Embry again, aren't you? God, Lilly. He isn't good for your mental health."

"Shut up," I snapped. "You don't know anything. I can take care of myself, Mary."

Mary stared at me for a long time, a heavy silence weighing throughout the whole room. I could feel her eyes on me as I cleaned up my mess of crumbs, and when I washed the peanut butter after-taste from my mouth with a large glass of water. I wanted to tell Mary what had happened, that Embry had imprinted on me. But Mary wouldn't believe me. She had rejected the legends years ago, and refused to even listen to anything that the Elders had to say. So, telling her was completely out of the question.

"I can't believe you," Mary said after what felt like an eternity of silence. "After everything, you'd still hang out with your little boy-toy rather than me?"

I glared at her, contemplating all of the things that I could say to her. I went with, "he's not a boy-toy. Embry is my friend. I can't believe you would even think that."

Without another word, Mary left, and I watched her stomp down the sidewalk from the front kitchen window. The pounding headache I had woken with had ceased to disappear, and I found it to be even more painful the more that I thought about it. I moved sluggishly into the bathroom, where a bottle of Tylenol hidden behind the mirror cabinet was waiting for me. I popped three pills into my mouth, and swallowed them dry.

I wasn't prone to headaches, and so the more I thought about the various reasons of why I could have one, the more it hurt. I slipped into my bedroom, quietly closing the door although I had no reason to be so quiet despite my headache. Crawling back underneath my blankets, I pulled them over my head and took a deep, lingering breath, releasing it slowly.

It felt almost as though my skull was pushing down on my brain, and it had to be one of the worst headaches that I had ever experienced. I closed my eyes, trying to block out the throbbing pain in my temples.

"Lilly?"

A hand pressed onto my shoulder, and I groaned. Rolling over onto my back, I pushed the blankets away from my face to reveal Embry, wearing nothing but cut off jean shorts and tennis shoes. I jumped up, and looked at the clock. It was almost six. I must've fallen asleep!

Shoving a hand through my tangled, unruly hair, I retied it with the black hair band and slid off of the mattress. "Sorry. I had a really bad headache and I guess I fell asleep."

"I was wondering why you didn't answer your phone.." Embry smiled. "You know, it's really not nice to stare at people."

I blinked, and felt my cheeks flush with warmth. "I wasn't staring." Gorgeous was an understatement. His red-tanned skin looked so warm, and smooth. The muscles of his chest were tantalizing, and I wanted to -

What was I thinking? Embry was my best friend. These sort of thoughts were supposed to be reserved for my boyfriend, whenever they came along.

"Don't look," I said, digging through my dresser drawers for something to wear other than shorts and a tank top. Embry laughed quietly, and I made sure that he was turned completely around before stripping myself of my pajamas.

"You know, it still stumps me as to how you don't remember Sam," Embry said to the wall. "He's a couple of years older than we are, but my dad always made such a big deal of him. Like he was the coolest thing around, or something."

I shrugged, only before realizing Embry couldn't see me. "My mom probably doesn't know who he is, either. Ok, you're good." I pulled my hair out from the back of my The Smiths tee.

"Nice," he said, nodding towards the shirt. I shrugged, and followed him down the stairs. My headache had virtually disappeared, and I was quite content now. "I borrowed Jake's Rabbit, so..."

I rolled my eyes as we stepped off of the front porch. Sure enough, Jacob's old, beat up VW Rabbit sat in the driveway as if it owned the place. I laughed as I climbed into the passenger seat. Scattered across the floor were candy bar wrappers, soda cans, and other random pieces of litter that he hadn't bothered to clean up. "Does Jake know the word 'clean' per chance?" I asked, pulling the seat belt across my lap and securing it in place.

"You're asking the wrong person," Embry said.